The Devil You Know
by dnachemlia
Summary: Written for the NFA Myths and Legends Challenge. Summary: A kidnapping case leads the team to the hunting grounds of an old American legend.
1. Prologue

Title: The Devil You Know

Written for the NFA Myths and Legends Challenge, probably 3-4 chapters.

Genre: Supernatural/Horror

Characters – Gibbs, Tim, Tony, Ziva, Ducky, Palmer, Abby, various OCs.

Rating: T

Set in 2009 (to fit the legend), but no spoilers beyond season 4

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda

Summary: A kidnapping case leads the team to the hunting grounds of an old American legend.

All quotes at the beginning of the chapters are lyrics from Bruce Springsteen songs. I'll give the songs at the end of the story. No infringement intended.

* * *

_I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost,  
For wanting things that can only be found  
In the darkness on the edge of town._

_**Prologue**_

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Jacob Hieser turned to his friend in disgust.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Kenny?"

"At home, in bed, where _I'd_ like to be."

"Aw, come on, man, it's barely 11 PM. We've been out way later than this."

"Yeah, back in high school, when we were young and stupid."

"That was only three years ago. When did you get so _old_?"

Kenny shined his flashlight in Jake's face and Jake squinted in annoyance. "I'm not old, Jake, I'm responsible."

"Yeah, right. First time for everything, dude."

"Hey, at least _I'm_ not the one who suggested we go on a monster hunt, for pity's sake."

"You could have said no, you know. You used to live for this stuff."

"I'm a little old for that crap now, Jake."

"See? There we go with the 'old' again. You need to learn to live a little."

"And how, exactly, is being out in the woods in the middle of the night, looking for a local legend 'living'? We're not going to find it, because it doesn't freaking exist."

"No, we're not going to find it because _you_ are making too damn much noise. You're going to scare it off."

"I seriously doubt that. _If_ it existed, which it doesn't, I don't think it would be scared off by a couple of skinny college geeks."

"Oh, it exists, Mr. Skeptic. Haven't you read the papers? It's been sighted all over the place. It's not logically possible that that many people could be hallucinating the same thing in so many separate incidents."

"Or it could just be a bunch of people all wanting attention. Or a hoax to _sell_ those papers."

"I don't think most people want that kind of attention Kenny. Would you want to be labeled as a nut?"

"Probably not. It's bad enough hanging out with one."

"Kenny?"

"What?"

"Bite me."

Kenny chuckled and continued to follow Jake as he picked his way through the tangle of undergrowth. The woods were silent, which Kenny had expected. He knew there was nothing here to worry about. The whole idea behind this "hunt" was just silly. He did have to admit, though, it was nice to do something a little crazy. School and work were so just so mundane and occasionally he did ache for the spontaneity of their high school antics.

After they had traveled about 500 yards, Kenny decided to break the silence.

"So, why now?"

"Because, 100 years ago there was a major rash of sightings, all within one week. It's been known to show up every 100 years or so. I figured this was as good a time as any."

"Whatever you say, man."

They continued on, occasionally stopping to sweep the area with their lights. Suddenly, Jake's light caught a flash of white in the darkness and they turned to focus on the area where they had seen it.

"What is that?"

"No idea. Want to take a closer look?"

"I don't know…"

Jake started to make clucking noises and Kenny punched him in the arm. Cautiously they made their way towards the object that caught their attention. They reached it, looked closely, and froze in terror as they realized what it was.

The night was shattered by twin screams which echoed through the forest. The screams were followed almost immediately by the sounds of the two friends crashing through the undergrowth as they fled the scene.

Soon the forest was quiet again, a silence which stretched into the night. Hours later, as the moon sank below the tree line, the night was broken by another scream. No one was around to hear, but if they had, they would have noticed a definite difference. The sound was louder, deeper and much more guttural.

And completely inhuman.

* * *

So, have you guessed the legend?


	2. Chapter 1

Yeah, I know, it's been awhile...

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda

* * *

_**Fear's a dangerous thing  
It can turn your heart black you can trust  
It'll take your God filled soul  
And fill it with devils and dust**_

Chapter 1

"Gear up," growled Gibbs as he slammed down his phone and rose from his desk. The rest of the team looked up in surprise and quickly scrambled to comply.

"Did they find her?" asked Ziva, a faint touch of worry crossing her face.

They had been investigating the kidnapping of a Marine dependent, a seven-year old girl named Marcia Lewis, and the likelihood of finding the girl alive had dwindled as the hours passed and their search turned up nothing.

"No, but they found one of the bastards who took her."

Two men, identified as members of Lieutenant Lewis' unit, had been seen in the vicinity when Marcia disappeared and both were currently UA. The men had voiced their anger at their commanding officer in the presence of several witnesses and had vowed to take 'the most important thing he had'.

"Alive?" Gibbs shot McGee a dark look. "Where?"

"Pinelands National Reserve in New Jersey."

"We going to Joisey, Boss?" asked Tony in a parody of the local accent. "What exit?" He was soon rubbing the back of his head, smarting from a harder-than-normal headslap.

"Wait, Pinelands? Isn't that also called the Pine Barrens? That's—"

"What's the matter, Probie? You afraid we'll run into the Devil?" Tony grinned at the younger man's annoyed expression.

"Devil?" asked Ziva. "I did not think you believed in such things, Tony. Why would you think it would be there, anyway?"

"He means the Jersey Devil, Ziva. And no, I'm not worried about some local myth. What I was going to say is that's over a million acres of wilderness. What was the Marine doing there?" He caught Gibbs' glare. "I guess we're going to find out." They grabbed their gear and followed Gibbs to the elevator, resuming the conversation once they were inside.

"So what is the Jersey Devil? I have never heard of it…other than the hockey team."

"Didn't know you were a hockey fan, Ziva."

"I am not."

"OK, fine. The Jersey Devil is an urban legend-"

"Actually it would be considered folklore. An urban legend would be contemporary, and stories of the Jersey Devil go back hundreds of years."

"Whatever, McTechnical. At any rate, it's a monster that lives in the woods of southern New Jersey."

"A monster?" Her eyes narrowed as she regarded him critically.

"So they say."

"And how many people have seen this monster?"

"Quite a few, if you believe the stories," replied McGee.

"We don't," said Gibbs, effectively silencing the group. "Right now the only story I want to hear is how we're going to find the missing girl."

"Yes, Boss."

XXX

When they arrived at their destination, the road that ran through the wooded area was blocked by two state patrol vehicles. One of the officers approached the sedan driven by Gibbs.

"NCIS?" When Gibbs nodded, the man looked relieved. "We've been waiting for you. There's a dirt road about 200 yards ahead, turn on that and go two miles. There will be an officer waiting to take you to the scene." He looked around. "The sooner we can get out of here, the better."

"Why?" asked Ziva from the passenger seat.

The man blushed slightly. "No particular reason." He quickly returned to his cruiser and backed it out of their way so the MCRT could pass, and once they were through he pulled it back into place.

Gibbs found the road easily and turned the sedan down the bumpy, unpaved track. He could almost imagine the complaints the others would be making as they navigated the rough road and smirked.

After nearly a mile, they say a group of people standing at the edge of the road. One was in uniform, one in a suit and dark overcoat, and two looked like typical early-20-somethings dressed for the cold. Gibbs brought the sedan to a halt and climbed out, followed by Ziva. They were soon joined by McGee and DiNozzo and walked up to the group where Gibbs addressed the two older men.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. Agents DiNozzo, McGee, and Officer David. I understand you found one of our suspects, Corporal D'Argent."

"According to his dog tags, at least. I'm Detective Sergeant Adams, and this is Officer Perkins." He pointed to the two younger men. "Jacob Heiser and Kenneth Baker. They found the body."

"Any sign of the girl?"

"No. We're working with the local FBI office to organize search teams to cover the area. They should be ready if you want to go brief them."

"Good. DiNozzo, shoot and sketch. McGee, bag and tag. Ziva, witness statements." He saw the witnesses glance at each other and barely managed to hide his smirk. "As soon as you're done, help the other two."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"Yes, Boss."

"On it, Boss"

Gibbs watched his team disperse, followed by Ducky and Palmer, and then turned to the detective. "Let's go."

XXX

Ziva studied the two witnesses. They looked extremely nervous as well as embarrassed, and it was obvious they were terrified of her.

_This is going to be interesting._

She decided to start off simple. "So, you found the body?" They both nodded. "When?"

"Uh, late last night, probably close to midnight. We…we got the cops out here as soon as we could."

"And what were you doing out here that late?"

Both men blushed and cast their gazes downward.

"Oh, go on, tell her," said Officer Perkins with a smirk, which faded when he caught Ziva's expression.

"We were, uh…looking for something," said the shorter of the two, Heiser.

"What were you looking for? Is it illegal?"

"No! Of course not."

"Then what?"

"They were Devil hunting."

She turned to look at the officer. "_Devil_ hunting?"

"The Jersey Devil," said Heiser, which earned him an elbow to the ribs from his friend.

"You were looking for a monster? Why?"

"I wondered that myself," grumbled Baker, finally breaking his silence.

"Hey, you didn't have to come!"

"And let you wander around out here by yourself? Yeah, right!"

"Aw, I didn't know you cared."

"I don't."

"Excuse me!" Both of the kids stopped arguing. "You still have not answered my question. Why were you looking for a monster?"

Baker sighed. "Jake here got it in his head that it would be a good time to see it, since it's 100 years from the last rash of sightings." He turned to his friend. "I _told_ you this was a stupid idea."

"Sightings? People have actually seen this…thing?"

"Yeah."

"Okay…So did you see it?"

Officer Perkins snorted and Ziva sent him a glare. "I am just trying to ascertain their mental state. I need to know how reliable they might be."

"No, we didn't see it. Kenny was making too much noise, anyway."

Ziva sighed. _They are almost as bad as DiNozzo and McGee._ She decided to try a different tack.

"So, how did you come across Corporal D'Argent?"

"We just…stumbled upon him."

"And then what?"

"We, uh, left the area quickly."

"And you went straight to the police?"

"Well…"

"Well, what?"

"We waited until morning."

"Why?"

"We saw that guy's face, and…we didn't want to take a chance at running into… whatever it was he saw."

XXX

McGee watched with curiosity as Ducky and Palmer reached the body. From what he could see, it looked undamaged but he knew first appearances were often deceiving.

Ducky crouched down and stared into the wide, unseeing eyes, and a strange expression crossed his face. "Interesting…"

"Looks like he died of fright," observed Palmer, and blushed when Ducky shot him an annoyed glance.

"As much as the idea predominates pop-culture, such a demise is not as frequent as you have been lead to believe." Ducky took a closer look at the man's face, twisted into a rictus of apparent terror. "Although in this case, it appears to be a possibility."

"Guess the Devil got him," remarked Tony and moved off to survey the scene.

"Knock it off, Tony," snapped McGee. "You know there's no such thing."

"There are a lot of people that would disagree with you, McGee." They all turned to stare at the Autopsy Gremlin with surprise.

"Don't tell me _you've_ seen it, Palmer," Tony laughed.

"Uh, no, of course not. But there have been multiple sightings, most from…normal, rational people."

"Really?" said Tony as his grin widened. "Do tell."

"Well…back in 1909, during one week in January, over 100 people reported seeing a strange, winged creature with a dog-like head and dragon tail that walked upright on cloven-hoofed feet. There were cases where several people saw it at the same time, as well as individual sightings, but they all reported the same thing. All sorts of people saw it: police officers, postmasters, hunters…That many people can't all go crazy at once, right?"

"That is debatable, Mr. Palmer, but yes, it is highly unlikely. It is more likely it was caused by some sort of mob mentality, as the tales were passed along."

"I don't…yes, Dr. Mallard."

"Now, I think it's past the time for ghost stories and high time we returned to the task at hand." He checked the liver probe. "I estimate time of death between 8 and 11 PM. Help me turn him over." Jimmy complied and they examined the Corporal's back. "No signs of trauma. I guess we'll have to wait until we get him back to Autopsy."

McGee turned away from the body and continued to do his job, ignoring the 'scary' faces Tony made whenever McGee glanced his way. Eventually Tony moved off to search the perimeter of the scene, and McGee headed in the opposite direction. Soon he noticed something.

"Hey Tony, I think I found the killer's footprints." He waited until Tony came over to examine them and smirked as the man leaned down to look.

"Cute, Probie, real cute, but unless Bambi decided to turn homicidal, I doubt these are relevant." He headed back towards the opposite side of the site and McGee shook his head with a low chuckle. He looked at the tracks again and paused when he noticed something odd.

_Pretty big tracks for a deer…_

Suddenly the silence was shattered by a blood-curdling scream.

TBC…

* * *

A/N: Tony's "what exit" comment refers to the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs through the length of the state. It's a local joke. No offense to residents intended.


	3. Chapter 2

Title: The Devil You Know

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda

* * *

_**Sway down Mama, sway down low  
They gonna know me wherever I go**_

Chapter 2

McGee drew his weapon and turned around to quickly survey the area for the source of the scream. Ducky and Palmer were still crouched near the body and were also looking around, wary expressions on their faces. Almost immediately, McGee heard the sound of running feet and a few moments later Ziva appeared. She was soon joined by the Officer and the two witnesses, the latter having apparently decided it was safer to stay with the people who had guns.

"Where is Tony?" Ziva asked after checking the scene.

"I don't know. Tony!" McGee yelled, and was answered by a soft groan coming from the edge of the clearing. He rushed toward the sound and again called Tony's name before he finally spotted the other agent lying on his back at the bottom of a shallow ravine.

"Tony! Are you OK? What happened?" McGee scrambled down the short incline to his partner's side. "Tony?"

"Ow…" The older man tried to sit up as Ziva arrived to help.

"What happened?"

"The ground gave way on me. I fell…twisted my leg."

Ducky and Palmer soon joined them and began to assess Tony's injury, with Ducky clucking in sympathy at Tony's rapidly swelling knee. Ziva glanced around the site again before returning her attention to the senior agent.

"Was that you who…shrieked?"

"That wasn't a 'shriek', Ziva. DiNozzo men do not 'shriek'. It was a manly exclamation of pain." They heard a snort of laughter and looked up to see the Officer and two witnesses standing at the top of the ravine. The Officer was obviously trying to keep a concerned expression on his face, while the young men had their hands over their mouths to contain their amusement.

"Dude," the shorter of the two finally exclaimed, "you screamed like a girl."

McGee, Ziva, and Palmer all bit their lips to keep from smiling as Ducky just shook his head. Tony glared at the offender and his smile faded.

"Sorry, man."

Tony continued to glare at him until Ducky finished his examination and gave his diagnosis.

"Well, Anthony, you certainly have done a number on yourself. It does not appear that you have torn anything, but we should take you to the hospital to have this checked out."

"Great. Gibbs is going to kill me."

"If you all are still working, I can take him. I need to take these two back to the station anyway."

"Thank you, Officer. Come on, Anthony, let's get you back to civilization."

Tony groaned and grumbled as McGee and Palmer helped him out of the ditch and out to the road while the officer went to get his patrol car. After they had Tony settled into the front seat of the cruiser, the two men returned to the scene and worked as quickly as they could to finish their tasks. Ziva had taken over Tony's job and soon they were ready to return to their vehicles.

They had just finished packing everything away when Gibbs arrived, along with Detective Adams.

"Where's DiNozzo?"

They told him what had happened and a concerned expression flashed across Gibbs' face, quickly followed by anger, although they could tell it was directed at the situation rather than his agent.

"Damn it." He studied the group for a moment before coming to a decision. "Ducky, you and Palmer take the body and evidence back to NCIS. McGee and Ziva, we're going to need you in on the search. We have a witness who saw our suspects take the girl into the forest and we believe she's still out here, somewhere, along with Corporal Shurte." "

"We have the search patterns and quadrants ready," added Detective Adams, "and enough locals who are familiar with the territory to make up ten teams, including you people." He glanced around to examine the silent forest. "It's going to be dark in a few hours, which doesn't give us much time to search."

"Then I guess we better get started."

XXX

An hour later, McGee and Ziva were making their way through a particularly dense patch of forest, following a local man by the name of John Axton. He had barely spoken two words to them and it was apparent that he was not happy to be there. He had occasionally glanced back to make sure the two members of Gibbs' team were still with him, and finally Ziva decided to try and start a conversation.

"You seem to know these woods well, Mr. Axton."

"Well enough."

"You have spent a lot of time out here?"

"More when I was younger. I stopped coming out here a few years ago."

"Why?"

He sent her a strange look and continued on.

"Was it because of the Devil?"

He stopped, the tension in his shoulders visibly increasing.

"You really believe the stories?" asked McGee, his curiosity piqued by the man's reaction. The man turned around and glared at the agent. "You're not from around here. Don't mock what you don't understand."

"Then explain to us," said Ziva. "Where I am from, there are many myths and legends. I do not pretend to understand them all, but that does not mean I do not believe in the possibility of something that cannot be explained by…natural occurrences."

Axton appeared to relax slightly and as he resumed his journey, he began his tale.

"It started back in the 1700's. There was a woman, some say her name was Mrs. Leeds, and some say it was Mrs. Shourds, and she lived in Leeds Point. Anyway, she found out she was pregnant with her 13th child, and said 'let this child be a devil'. Others attribute what happened to a gypsy curse or the child being cursed by the townspeople because it was illegitimate. At any rate, when the child was born, some say it was born as the Devil, others say it was born as a normal baby and changed into the creature: bat wings, clawed hands and cloven hooves, horse's head, dragon's tail, and yellow eyes."

"Ugh."

"Yeah."

"Then what happened?"

"Again, the story varies. Some will tell you it killed everyone who was present and flew off, other times it's said it didn't harm anyone. At any rate, it disappeared from the house and has been seen ever since. At first it hung around the cabin where it was born, but Mrs. Leeds 'shooed' it away and it never returned to that place."

"So this thing has been around for almost 300 years?"

"Off and on. One story says that a clergyman exorcised it in 1740 and it was seen only twice in 100 years. After those 100 years had passed, people started seeing it again much more frequently, and it has been seen all over the Pine Barrens."

"Have _you_ seen it?"

Axton just shot McGee a glare and continued walking.

"You know, there is probably some rational explanation to what people saw, or thought they saw."

"Yeah, I've heard those," muttered Axton. "They say it's a sand hill crane, since that sort of fits the description, or maybe a large owl, to explain the screams and big yellow eyes…that, you know, it's supposed to have."

"Sounds reasonable."

"To a city boy like you, maybe."

"But not to you?"

Axton turned to Ziva. "I know what a crane looks like, and I know what an owl looks like. I know what most of the things in these woods, that people say it could be, _look_ like. They don't fit…they don't fit what the sightings say."

Axton lapsed back into silence and they continued their search of the forest, an uneasy silence settling over the other two members of the group.

Several hours later, as the sun was starting to set, Axton finally broke his silence and suggested that they head back.

"I already know what Gibbs would say to that," Ziva replied. "We do not stop until he tells us to stop." Axton muttered something impolite under his breath and resumed walking. After another twenty minutes of hiking, the group retrieved their flashlights from their packs to aide their search of the now-dark woods.

Suddenly McGee stopped. "Do you smell that?"

Ziva sniffed the air and nodded in understanding. "Wood smoke."

They continued walking as the smell grew stronger, and soon they could see the faint glow of a fire. It appeared to be located at the back of a rock shelter. When they drew closer, they could see a small, hunched form nearby.

"Marcia?" McGee called softly. "Marcia Lewis?"

"Daddy?"

"No, but we're here to help you," McGee whispered and the group started towards her. The sound of a gun being cocked brought the team to a halt.

"Don't even think about it," a cold voice responded from the darkness.

"Corporal Shurte?" asked Ziva as she carefully reached for her weapon.

"Don't move, damn it. Who the hell are you? Where's Carl?"

"NCIS," said McGee. "And Corporal D'Argent is dead."

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

"Then who did?"

"The Devil," said Axton with more than a trace of animosity.

Shurte scoffed. "Yeah, right. Never believed that crap. Now tell me who did it!"

"We do not know," replied Ziva. "It appears he died of fright."

"OK, fine, you want to be cute?" He stepped into the firelight, grabbed the girl and pulled her in front of him with his gun to her head. "Drop your weapons. Now."

"We have search teams all over these woods," said McGee. "You'll never make it past all of them."

Shurte chuckled. "They don't know this place like I do. Me and Carl, we grew up here, spent more time out here than practically anywhere. Plenty of places to hide and ways to move without being seen."

"In the daytime, maybe. I know you haven't been out here much at night."

"John? John Axton?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'll be damned. I figured you'd be too chicken to come out here after what you _claimed_ you saw."

Axton said nothing, and Shurte laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Still full of crap, just like always."

"Look," said McGee as he searched for an opportunity to disable than man. "Just give yourself up. It will be a lot easier in the long run."

"I don't think so."

"Three against one," said Ziva as she too looked for a weakness. Suddenly there was a sharp bark of a silenced pistol and Axton fell to the ground with a cry of agony.

"Make that two against one."

Ziva crouched next to Axton to check on him. "Still alive," she said to McGee in a low voice, before raising it to address the Marine. "What do you want, Shurte?"

"I want to walk out of here. I want-"

The night was shattered by a gut-wrenching scream.

"What the hell-?"

The gun moved away from Marcia's head and she leaned forward, sinking her teeth into Shurte's wrist. He yelped and let go, but before he could grab her again she launched herself at McGee. He managed to catch her just as she barreled into him but he lost his balance and they fell to the ground in a heap. Ziva immediately bent down to reach for her gun and just as she touched it, she felt something large pass overhead. Instinctively she hit the ground. Almost immediately afterwards Shurte screamed, and when she looked up a few seconds later, he was gone.

"What in the Hell?"

"Ziva?"

She turned back to McGee, who had managed to sit up, still holding the crying child.

"Are you OK, McGee?"

"Yeah, fine." He looked around. "Where's Shurte?"

"I…I think he ran."

"Damn it, Gibbs is going to kill us." A groan startled him and he turned toward the supine figure a few feet away. "Axton?"

"Yeah…I'll live. He always was a lousy shot."

"We need to get you medical attention. How far are we from the base camp?"

"Probably five or six miles. Give me your radio and I'll get them as close as I can."

Ziva handed him her radio, then pulled off her outer jacket and used it to wrap Axton's shoulder as best as she could. He gave directions to whomever was on the other end, naming places and describing landmarks that meant nothing to her, but the message was apparently understood as Axton sighed in relief.

"We'll need to go about a mile and a half west and we'll hit one of the gravel roads. They'll be waiting for us."

"Can you make it that far?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Let's go."

Ziva helped Axton up as McGee struggled to his feet. Marcia still had her arms wrapped around his neck with her face buried in his shoulder, and he adjusted her slightly so he could carry her and still use his flashlight. Axton leaned on Ziva as the group made their way towards the road, with Axton muttering directions as needed.

"Ziva?"

"Yes, McGee?"

"Why did Shurte run?"

"I…I do not know." She glanced at her partner and noticed his worried expression. "Perhaps he realized he had no other option."

"I guess."

They had gone about a hundred yards when suddenly McGee froze. "Do you hear that?"

She stopped to listen and just barely heard the soft crunch of leaves nearby. She reached for her gun, stepped away from Axton, and scanned the area with her flashlight. "I know you are there, Shurte," she called. She turned to look behind them, waiting silently for the man to respond, but there was no sign of him. Ziva was almost ready to turn back when she heard a startled gasp.

"McGee? What is wrong?"

"Uh, Ziva?" he replied, his voice strained. "I think I know why Shurte ran…"

TBC…

* * *

One more chapter to go.


	4. Chapter 3

Title: The Devil You Know

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda

* * *

_**Born down in a dead man's town**_

Chapter 3

"Uh, Ziva? I think I know why Shurte ran…"

McGee stared in shock at the large yellow eyes that had suddenly appeared in the darkness. He kept trying to tell himself that those eyes belonged to something ordinary, something _natural_, and Shurte had just been freaked out by the suggestions placed in his head by Axton. McGee heard Ziva gasp in surprise and out of the corner of his eye he saw her raise her gun and point it in the direction of their visitor.

"That's not going to do you any good," whispered Axton. "If a cannonball didn't faze it, a 9mm bullet sure as hell won't."

The three adults remained as still as possible, trying not to disturb the sleeping child in McGee's arms as well as whatever it was that was staring at them, unblinkingly. McGee was tempted to raise his flashlight to get a better look, but some part of him decided it really didn't want to know and he kept the light pointed at the ground.

The clouds that had been covering the full moon parted, and suddenly the small clearing in which they now stood was illuminated with cold, pale light, giving the group their first clear look at their observer. McGee almost dropped his flashlight in surprise.

"Oh my God…"

"Doubt He had anything to do with…_that_," muttered Axton, as Ziva uttered a harsh but soft exclamation in Hebrew.

The creature was just as the stories had described it, although not as big as McGee would have expected. It was about five feet tall, standing on its crooked hind legs which ended in large, cloven hooves. A long, thin, snake-like appendage trailed from its hindquarters to the ground, the end curled up and twitching like the tail of an angry cat. It had a dog-like body, but its front limbs ended in three sharp claws, and a pair of large leathery wings sprouted from its shoulders. At the end of its long neck was a head which looked like a cross between a dog's and a horse's, surprisingly lacking horns, and its small ears flipped back and forth, trying to catch any sounds from the humans that had invaded its territory. It cocked its head, and let out a short, shrieking bark, a sound which caused the group to collectively flinch.

McGee felt the girl stir in his arms. He prayed she wouldn't wake up and see this nightmare, but his request went unanswered and she raised her head and turned to look over her shoulder. She stared for a moment before speaking only one word.

"Shoo."

The creature cocked its head to the other side as it regarded the girl before it gave one more shrieking bark, flapped its wings and flew off into the night.

Marcia turned her head back to snuggle into McGee's shoulder and went back to sleep as the adults looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly Axton grinned.

"Wish I'd thought of that earlier," he said with a chuckle. "Now let's get the hell out of here."

"That sounds like a very good idea to me," Ziva replied. "But what are we-?"

"Nothing," said Axton. "Take it from me, you don't want to be the one telling people something they will never believe."

XXX

When the group finally reached the gravel road, the ambulance was waiting for them, along with several marked and unmarked vehicles, sate and federal officers, and the girl's parents. In the confusion of treating Axton and reuniting the family, McGee and Ziva were able to fade into the background. The maintained their silence concerning what they had seen, but knew they would be discussing it with each other at some point, although not, by choice at least, with their team.

They did tell the responding officers about Shurte and soon another search team was sent out, well armed and with dogs. By down they had found Shurte, or what was left of him. The body was at the bottom of a ravine, much deeper than the one into which Tony had fallen, and from all appearances Shurte had suffered a broken neck when he landed. There were no other marks on him, other than a frozen expression of terror on the man's face.

XXX

The next day the entire team was back at work. Tony was confined to desk duty until his knee healed, and he grumbled about the cold cases he would be stuck reviewing while McGee and Ziva worked in the field.

"Man, I hate paperwork," he muttered.

"I do not think you are the only one that feels that way," replied Ziva as she typed up her report on the case they had just finished investigating. "But at least you will not be required to go trapping through the woods anytime soon."

"_Traipsing_, Ziva. Not trapping. It's a different activity all together." He gave her a toothy grin. "Speaking of the woods…how was your little adventure in Jersey? See anything interesting?"

"No."

"What about you, McGee?"

"No. Nothing at all."

"Huh. I mean, this case is weird. Both men looked like they had been scared to death. Are you _sure _you didn't see anything…hinky?"

McGee ignored him and continued typing, although Ziva could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Yes, we are quite sure, Tony. What would you have expected us to see?"

"Well…"

"Duck wants to see _us_, in Autopsy," said Gibbs as he made one of his sudden appearances. "Says he's figured out what killed D'Argent and Shurte."

The team followed Gibbs to the elevator and after they had waited for Tony to make the trek on his crutches to join them, Gibbs pressed the button to take them to the basement.

Ducky was waiting for them with a triumphant smile.

"What do ya got, Duck?"

"Well, I believe the mystery of Corporal D'Agent's death is solved. He suffered from cardiomyopathy, or weakening of the heart muscle, most likely due to an untreated viral infection. He had a time bomb in his chest, and it was only a matter of time before the weakened area gave out."

"Heart failure?"

"Essentially, yes. As for Corporal Shurte, the original assessment at the scene was correct. His fourth cervical vertebra is fractured, which severed his spinal cord. Death would no doubt have been very quick for both men."

"An accident," McGee said, almost to himself. Tony chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"See Probie, I told you there was a logical explanation for all of this."

"Sure you did, Tony."

"Well, now that the question as to cause and manner of death has been laid to rest…"

"We can close out this case. Thanks, Duck." Gibbs turned to his team. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

The group left as quickly as possible, returned to their desk and got back to work. By the end of the day, everything had been filed and there were no new cases. Both Tony and Gibbs had left and Ziva was getting ready to leave when she noticed the McGee was still engrossed in the data flowing across his screen.

"What are you working on, McGee?"

He glanced up and immediately returned his attention to the monitor. "I've just been doing some checking on D'Agent and Shurte…you know, family history stuff."

"Why?"

"Call it a hunch. The, uh…" He glanced around to make sure they were alone and lowered his voice. "What we saw out there, it attacked Shurte, and probably D'Argent, but not us. I wondered why, and I think I might have an idea." He pressed a few keys. "I've been looking at local history and genealogy listings that are online. There are quite a few for the original families in that area. Turns out both of the kidnappers were descended from families that lived in the Pine Barrens in the 1700's. It turns out that there was a also a witch trial in that area about the same time the Devil was supposed to have appeared. Both sets of ancestors had someone involved in the complaints made…against a Mrs. Leeds."

"So you think…?"

"Hell of a coincidence."

"And we don't believe in coincidences."

He gave her a strained smile. "No, we don't. Of course, up until a couple of days ago, I wouldn't have believed…what we saw."

"I understand you would say that." She paused. "I, on the other hand, was trained to believe that not everything can be easily explained by the natural world…But it is… how do you say… ironic?"

"Ironic? Why?"

"In my homeland, there are many myths, many stories of things that cannot be attributed to human or animal existence." She smiled. "But I had to travel thousands of miles, all the way to America…to meet a real legend."

The End

* * *

A/N: Song titles, all by Bruce Springsteen:

Prologue – _Darkness on the Edge of Town_

Chapter 1 – _Devils and Dust_

Chapter 2 – _A Night with the Jersey Devil_

Chapter 3 – _Born in the USA_


End file.
